Over the previous few weeks, journalists, unbiased creators, information organisations, activists and Opposition politicians have been reporting a rising variety of Instagram accounts being restricted in India or posts being arbitrarily taken down — lots of them regarding the Cockroach Janta Celebration (CJP) motion, the brutal police crackdown that adopted, or just content material essential of the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) authorities or its insurance policies.
Whereas the police arrested and detained protesters throughout cities, the federal government has concurrently been taking down content material on Instagram through notices which will have been issued beneath Section 79(3)(b) or Section 69A of the Info Know-how (IT) Act. Sure, could have been, as a result of there isn’t a readability to your complete mechanism by any means.
The Timing of the Censorship Frenzy
The timing of this state-sanctioned censorship frenzy is especially alarming. It comes within the quick aftermath of the CJP protests, a youth-led motion whose attain and mobilisation had been powered overwhelmingly by the digital ecosystem, notably Instagram. The platform performed a pivotal position in remodeling CJP from a satire web page right into a nationwide motion that pressured the federal government to concede to a few of its core calls for.
Born as a response to a snide comment made by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, CJP discovered its nucleus within the social media areas occupied by younger individuals. The group created its Instagram web page in early Could, posting reels, memes and explainers and quickly amassing a following that surpassed that of each main political social gathering in India. With 26.5 million followers as of as we speak, CJP demonstrated how on-line engagement could possibly be transformed into massive street mobilisation throughout the nation.
From the 36-day sit-in and starvation strike by Sonam Wangchuk and protesting students, to the Jantar Mantar ‘Sansad Chalo’ march on July 20 and solidarity protests throughout cities, Instagram was the first platform via which contributors and the broader public obtained and disseminated data. It enabled volunteers, creators and abnormal customers to amplify protest calls, coordinate demonstrations and broadcast occasions in actual time.
Instagram, owned by Meta, was due to this fact not merely a digital document of the motion; it was one of many principal engines of it. The size of the road mobilisation, catalysed by the platform, ultimately pressured the federal government to concede to a number of of CJP’s core calls for, together with former schooling minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, compensation for households of scholars who died by suicide, and several other reformative measures introduced by the federal government.
It’s in opposition to this backdrop that the timing of the present censorship turns into particularly important. A platform that proved able to turning youth discontent into one of many nation’s largest grassroots actions is now on the centre of an opaque censorship drive, elevating questions on what and who the state is in search of to silence.
Anti-establishment Wave Forces Modi to Make Reels
This digital upheaval additionally managed to create an unprecedented anti-establishment wave, which not solely led to the resignation of a cupboard minister for the first time in BJP’s 12-year rule but additionally compelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create Instagram reels responding to the rising discontentment in the direction of his governance.
The 75-year-old PM, who has not held a single press convention in 12 years, made 5 consecutive reels whereby he directly addressed the youth protesters — referring to them as ‘buddies’ versus his common ‘Mitron’. A marked departure from BJP’s historically scripted social media communication, in his candidly-shot selfie movies, Modi assured the disgruntled Gen-Zs who steered the protest, that his authorities is dedicated to taking motion in opposition to the paper leaks and is actively taking measures to resolve their grievances.
The whole censorship drive is enjoying out concurrently with tensions deepening between Meta and the BJP authorities, with many suspecting that the rise in censorship of anti-government content material on Instagram is a results of the previous succumbing to stress.
The tech large drew the federal government’s ire after it claimed to have erroneously eliminated Modi’s July 23 submit addressing the protesting college students from Fb. Though the video was shortly restored, a parliamentary standing committee gave a three-day ultimatum to CEO Mark Zuckerberg to problem an apology whereas threatening to revoke the platform’s secure harbour immunity in India. This led to Meta’s chief international affairs officer Joel Kaplan reportedly flying in from the USA, assembly Union minister Ashwini Vaishnav and apologising on behalf of the corporate on Wednesday.
‘Blanket Ban On Protest, Modi Associated Content material’
Nonetheless, Modi’s ‘pleasant assurances’ didn’t preserve the federal government from suppressing dissenting voices on Instagram. On August 6, Thursday, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das shared screenshots on X of his Instagram posts being taken down, calling it a “blanket ban on protest and Modi associated content material”. The 2 posts, uploaded on June 12 and 18, had been about Das’ arrival in Bengaluru for a peaceable protest and CJP securing police clearance for the July 20 protest in Delhi, respectively.
Seems my content material on Instagram too was restricted in India. What is that this blanket ban on protest associated and Modi associated content material? It’s unconstitutional and unlawful. It’s completely ridiculous.
We enchantment to @Meta to not succumb to such high-handed stress from the… pic.twitter.com/GxjQ70kx9q
— Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) August 6, 2026
One other CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka tweeted that 4 of his movies had been restricted in India.
So Meta has restricted 4 of my movies in India.
One video confirmed how police was stopping meals from reaching Jantar Mantar. The opposite was made when @Wangchuk66 was forcefully picked up.@Meta – I do know this govt fears us, however final I checked, you had been nonetheless preaching about free… pic.twitter.com/8wzVzxRr6r
— Ashutosh Ranka (@AshutoshRanka) August 7, 2026
CJP’s official Instagram web page was briefly made unavailable in India on July 22, two days after the Jantar Mantar stir. “Cockroach Janta Celebration’s Instagram account has been taken down by Narendra Modi,” Dipke wrote on his X handle with the screenshot that displayed the message, “It’s because we complied with a authorized request to limit this content material.”
‘Automated’ Crackdown
Two movies uploaded by unbiased information outlet Maktoob Media on July 21 and 23 had been blocked in India beneath the IT Guidelines. “Your submit is unavailable in India. We restricted entry to this content material via an automatic system carried out pursuant to authorized necessities beneath India’s Info Know-how (Middleman Pointers and Digital Media Ethics Code) Guidelines,” the notification learn.
Talking to Alt Information, Maktoob Media editor Aslah Kayyalakkath stated, “Each the movies had been our unique journalistic content material analysing the protest and the following police crackdown. The primary video, particularly, examined how Proper-wing propaganda media shops had been misrepresenting the protest. It was eliminated inside minutes of being uploaded on July 21. Neither video contained graphic visuals, but they had been restricted with none particular clarification about what precisely violated the legislation.” He talked about that the notification didn’t embrace any steps to enchantment for withdrawing the restriction and mails to Meta didn’t yield any response.
“For an unbiased newsroom, this isn’t merely about two movies being unavailable. When documentation of protests and police motion can disappear from a significant platform with no clear cause, it raises critical questions on transparency, accountability and censorship,” he added.
Priyanshi Sharma, co-founder of unbiased information outlet Peek TV, posted on X that an August 4 interview with 23-year-old Shradha Singh, one of many protesters who allegedly obtained “rape and loss of life threats”, was arbitrarily faraway from their Instagram web page. The video mentioned the alleged harassment, doxxing and online abuse girls protesters have been going through since July 20.
This video was faraway from our Instagram deal with as we speak. We don’t know why. We now have posted it once more. https://t.co/1rOltEKVDL
— Priyanshi Sharma (@Priyanshi50) August 4, 2026
Sonal Hayat, a journalist with The Impartial, instructed Alt Information that her Instagram story on July 28, a repost of Hussain Haidry’s tweet on girls criticising the BJP receiving “rape threats” by “BJP supporters and IT Cell”, was eliminated with the identical notification citing “an automatic system” and “IT guidelines”.
“I had simply reshared a tweet including that I had additionally been trolled by the IT Cell. I simply bought a notification that my story was eliminated, there was no cause given. This varieties a part of a sample of the federal government simply eradicating something and all the things that criticises them,” she stated.
‘Something Anti-Authorities Will Be Eliminated’
Political content material creator Shrishti Khanna, who has been preventing an uphill battle with Instagram, instructed Alt Information that her account with 104,000 followers was restricted in India, which compelled her to create a back-up account. “I’ve been creating political content material on Instagram for some time, typically discussing points just like the Palestinian genocide, native Indian politics, Hindutva, the RSS-BJP playbook. On June 9, my account, which had almost 100,000 followers, was abruptly suspended with none prior discover inside 24 hours of me posting about an alleged Israeli warfare felony vacationing in India. Meta claimed it was resulting from copyright violations, though the posts had been completely my very own reporting. After I appealed, Meta admitted it was an error and restored my account,” she stated.
“Nonetheless, on July 7, my account was blocked in India by authorities order beneath Part 79(3)(b), which means that it was deliberately flagged by a police officer and Meta needed to comply. Once more, I obtained no discover or mails from both Meta or the federal government. Folks began messaging me that they might not view my account in India. I opened my account and there was no notification. The entire course of was so discreet that I solely found the restriction by digging via Meta’s settings. My account was banned proper after I spoke about Kashmir, however since no cause was communicated, that is simply my speculation,” she stated.
Khanna has approached the Delhi excessive courtroom with a writ petition on the restriction and her subsequent listening to is on September 2. “I’ve persistently been subjected to hate campaigns by Proper-wing trolls, rape and loss of life threats, and even AI-generated deepfakes of myself. If you happen to say something in opposition to the federal government or Modi, they are going to goal you,” she stated.
Content material creator Anjali Priya instructed Alt Information that on July 24 she received a notification that her July 23 satirical submit demanding Pradhan’s resignation with a screenshot of Modi’s ‘Hello Mates’ video was restricted in India. “I used to be not given any prior discover that my submit will likely be restricted in my very own nation the place my total viewers base is. There was no cause besides ‘we now have obtained a authorized request to limit entry to your submit’ talked about,” she stated.
Three of Alt Information co-founder Mohammed Zubair’s Instagram posts had been restricted in India both citing the IT Guidelines or in accordance with Part 79(3)(b) of the IT Act. The posts, uploaded on Could 19, June 8, and June 28, confirmed a youth recording himself voting eight occasions for a BJP candidate in Uttar Pradesh, BJP chief Nazia Elahi’s hate speech at a press convention, and skewed protection of stories companies ANI, PTI & IANS, respectively.
In the identical vein, information outlet Scroll.in on Thursday published a report stating that 4 of its Instagram posts had been restricted in India, all equally citing “authorized necessities” beneath the IT Guidelines and “via an automatic system”. The posts coated lack of compensation for Kashmir’s pellet gun victims, a photograph displaying pellet accidents, the contentious Chauhaan movie teaser and a authorized problem to Amritsar’s meat-sale ban. All 4, regarding politically delicate points and important of presidency coverage, had been made unavailable in India with no particular cause. Scroll is but to obtain a response from Meta.
The Hindu on Friday additionally reported that their Instagram submit on Kashmir pellet sufferer Insha Mushtaq was restricted in India. “The story on which the Instagram submit was made was printed on August 1 and we obtained a discover that it was restricted in India on August 8. The story continues to be up on our web site, however we suspect that it has been restricted on Instagram. That is being carried out to disclaim the brand new technology entry to politically delicate tales, notably tales on pellet weapons, after it was reported that they had been used through the CJP protests. This story additionally talked about the CJP protests, and reportage on that can be being blocked on Instagram,” a supply from The Hindu instructed Alt Information.
In the meantime, former chief minister of Delhi and Aam Aadmi Celebration (AAP) founder Arvind Kejriwal’s Instagram account was additionally momentarily restricted in India on Thursday.
He highlighted that lack of response from Meta on X, saying “… Nobody in your workplace is giving any causes. Nobody is suggesting how restrictions will be eliminated. All emails written have elicited no response…Don’t bow right down to our Prime Minister a lot. Else he’ll enable u to run solely his personal account in India.”
Hello @Meta @metaindia
Why have you ever restricted my account? Verbal enquiries at your India workplace revealed that my account has been restricted in India and is unavailable in India. Why? Noone in your workplace is giving any causes. Noone is suggesting how restrictions will be eliminated.… pic.twitter.com/4JThAqFMon
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 6, 2026
AAP’s official deal with on X additionally posted a screenshot of a number of Instagram posts being made unavailable in India. “No clarification. No accountability. Simply silence…Meta, cease hiding behind silence. Inform India why accounts are being restricted in your platforms and whose orders you’re appearing on. Regardless of a number of emails, why are we nonetheless not getting a response?” learn the submit.
Obscure Authorized Orders and a Lifeless-end Appeals Course of
This lack of transparency and any efficient avenue for enchantment in opposition to the takedowns entice customers in a black field of opacity and confusion.
Notably, on August 6, the Union ministry of electronics & IT (MeitY) announced in a circular that the “timeline for the removing of illegal content material has been decreased from 36 hours to three hours”. The round defines ‘illegal content material’ as “data prohibited beneath any legislation in the interim in power in relation to the curiosity of the sovereignty and integrity of India; safety of the State; pleasant relations with international States; public order; decency or morality; in relation to contempt of courtroom; defamation; incitement an offence regarding the above; or any data which is prohibited beneath any legislation…”
The round mandates ‘takedown notices’: “Social media intermediaries are required to take away any illegal data as and when dropped at their information both via a courtroom order or via a reasoned intimation, in writing from the Applicable Authorities or its company.” It additionally outlines a grievance redressal mechanism: “Intermediaries are required to nominate Grievance Officers and resolve complaints inside the prescribed timelines. Customers can enchantment on-line at https://www.gac.gov.in if their complaints usually are not addressed by the intermediaries’ Grievance Officers.”
Nonetheless, in a number of instances examined by Alt Information, customers highlighted that they obtained no prior discover or particular clarification for the restrictions. Meta’s notifications cited solely two causes: restriction in compliance with a authorized request and thru an automatic system based mostly on authorized necessities beneath Part 79(3)(b) of the IT Act. Most often, customers flagged how these notices had been largely imprecise and lacked any actual data on who ordered the restriction or what content material allegedly violated the legislation. Additionally they highlighted lack of an choice to enchantment for restoration of their accounts or posts, or response on mails despatched to Meta immediately.
Customers stated that upon clicking on the ‘See why’ after a submit or account is restricted, the identical message on automated methods and authorized necessities beneath IT Guidelines seem and upon clicking ‘The place this occurred’, ‘India’ seems as the placement the place the content material is restricted. For ‘How we made this choice’, the very same message that appeared within the preliminary discover, “We now have taken this motion based mostly on an area authorized requirement”, reappears; a really related message is displayed upon opening Meta’s ‘Transparency Centre’ — making a loop of opaque explanations. Beneath are the sequence of messages customers encounter:
Affected customers additionally the questioned the ‘automated system’ and and the shortage of readability over the way it capabilities. “What is especially surprising is Meta’s clarification. What precisely is that this automated system? Does this imply there’s now a system that mechanically identifies and blocks journalistic content material within the identify of complying with authorized necessities? The concept that this course of might now be automated, with none transparency about why a specific piece of journalism is being blocked, is deeply alarming and harmful for press freedom,” stated Kayyalakkath.
As public discourse more and more shifts from the streets to social media feeds, the rise in Instagram censorship begs the query: will there ever stay an area for democratic dissent on this nation — on-line or offline?
